Ready For The Trip

Soldiers Gather Bullets, Courage Before Going Into Iraq

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT — Time alone and time with friends calm nervous soldiers before they make convoy journeys into Iraq.

Spc. Steven Webb sprawled out across his cot Saturday morning, reviewing his checklist and clearing his mind.

With only hours left before climbing behind the wheel of an armored Humvee bound for Camp Anaconda -- a supply distribution hub north of Baghdad -- Webb needed to be alone with his thoughts.

For more than a week, Webb has known that he and more than a dozen other Fort Eustis-based 7th Transportation Group soldiers would be heading into Iraq today for the first time since the group arrived nearly a month ago. Their convoy will carry supplies along one of the most dangerous roads in Iraq, a route that insurgents attack on a daily basis. The group commander, Col. Jeff Miser, will be along on this trip, inspecting firsthand the things his soldiers encounter every day.

Saturday morning, the only sound in Webb's empty tent was the constant hum of the air conditioner.

This isn't Webb's first trip to Iraq. But he's scared.

Butterflies started churning in his stomach the day before. Webb, known for his shaved head, wide smile and constant jokes, had little to laugh about.

"Nervousness is normal," he said, talking both to himself and a visitor. "If you aren't nervous then something is wrong with you."

The 27-year-old drove a 915, an Army truck about the size of semi, across the border during the invasion of the country last year.

"We might as well have not been up there last year," Webb said. "It's so different now."

Last year, the group drove unarmored trucks.

It wasn't a problem then, Webb said. "We were just driving through the desert and not on roads the enemy knows we use."

Now, as few trucks as possible go up without some form of armor.

"We knew back then there was a chance we could get into something," Webb said. "We were prepared for that."

The chances are much higher now.

Drivers say every convoy is likely to encounter an attack of some sort.

"It could be anything from small-arms fire to an IED," Webb said.

Roadside bombs -- known as improvised explosive devices in the military -- are the biggest threat to trucks in Iraq.

"The enemy can shoot at my armor all day long," Webb said, cracking a smile. "It's the IEDs I'm worried about."

Other drivers have told him a roadside bomb can flip a Humvee. And shrapnel can penetrate even armored vehicles.

"But what I need to worry about is driving," Webb said. "If my foot stays heavy on that pedal we should be OK."

By midmorning, Webb had run out of time to reflect.

He had communication checks to do. He had information to program into his Humvee's onboard computer so that "in case something happens we aren't fumbling around trying to call someone."

He wanted to take a test-drive around camp.

"Everything is fine," he said later. "The last thing I'm worried about is my truck breaking down. She's ready to go."

He went over to the arms room and loaded thousands of bullets into magazines for himself and those traveling with him.

"Hopefully we never have to use these," Webb said as he pushed the bullets in one by one. "Because if I'm using these that means I'm getting shot at."

Just after the sun set Saturday, Webb attended a convoy briefing where the commander, group attorney and operations officer went over some of the latest intelligence from the roads in Iraq -- five roadside bombs had gone off that afternoon near Baghdad.

The news didn't seem to faze Webb.

After a day with his thoughts, he said as he smoked a cigarette outside his tent, "I think I'm ready to go now."

"What I need to do now is spend some time with friends and relax," Webb said.